Covid-19: 17 deaths and 5,325 confirmed cases as Dr Holohan warns of 'considerable surge'

Health officials confirmed the latest Covid-19 case numbers this evening. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

A further 5,325 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Ireland by the Department of Health today.

This follows confirmation of 17 Covid-related deaths in the country. 16 of those deaths occurred in January.

The total number of Covid-related fatalities has now reached 2,282 since the outbreak began.

Today’s confirmed cases bring the total number of cases to 113,322.

767 cases were reported in Cork, 323 in Kildare, 322 in Limerick, 238 in Donegal. 

Dublin recorded the most cases with 1,93. 

The remaining 1,744 cases are spread across all other counties.

The 14-day incidence is now 674 cases per 100,000 people - up from 246 this day last week.

Monaghan has the highest 14-day incidence rate at 1243, nearly twice the national average. 

Limerick has also seen a surging incident rate at 1113.4 as outbreaks continue in the county.

Efforts continued

Commenting on the latest confirmed cases, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) from the Department of Health, Dr. Tony Holohan, said the rising numbers and hospitalisations are serious but can be stopped like last year.

“We are now experiencing a considerable surge in cases and hospitalisations. We can turn this around quickly if we stick to the measures we know worked last spring,” he said.

The CMO said some progress has been made with reduced contacts but further effort is needed to stop the spread of coronavirus and protect the health and education systems.

"We have seen some early progress in that the average number of contacts per case has been dropping in recent days – but we need to continue this effort to limit as much as we can our contact with other people in the days and weeks ahead.

“If we all stay home and keep to the public health advice, we can bring Covid-19 back under control - which ultimately will protect our essential services such as Health and Education and most importantly save lives,” said Dr Holohan.

A further breakdown of the case data provided by the Department of Health shows:

• 2,550 cases are men while 2,769 are women;
• 63% of cases are under 45 years of age ;
• The median age of confirmed cases is 36 years old;

Health service risk

The latest cases and deaths come as health officials warn of rising hospitalisations posing a risk to the health service.

The Chief Executive of the HSE, Paul Reid, warned the health service is "under real threat now" and that primary and GP services are under "relentless strain".

Mr Reid said the country is heading for a peak in hospitalisations similar to the first wave.

A public health official has also said that the Covid-19 situation in Munster has reached a “critical” stage after surging Covid-19 cases.

Public Health officials in Limerick have warned of increased outbreaks of Covid-19. Picture: Dan Linehan

The UL hospitals group announced this evening the deferral of the majority of their outpatient appointments and scheduled surgeries across their hospitals as Covid-19 cases surge.

840 Covid-19 patients have been hospitalised according to the Department of Health with 76 of them receiving treatment in intensive care.

This is just below the peak of hospitalizations during the first wave. 

102 patients have been admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours while nine admissions have been made to intensive care units (ICU). 68 people have been discharged from hospital in the last 24 hours while four people have left ICU.

Economic fallout

The rising cases and hospitalisation data comes as Ireland’s economy adjusts again to introduced lockdown restrictions.

The number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has increased by almost 58,000 people since December 22.

Over 335,000 people will get the payment this week at a cost of almost €100m.

Department of Social Protection figures show around 23,000 payments were made between Christmas Eve and December 30 to people who became unemployed in the week before Christmas.

Anyone who lost their job between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve and who are entitled to the payment will receive it today.

Schools decision

Meanwhile, schools look set to stay closed until the end of the month after the Fianna Fáil social media team and TD Niamh Smyth appeared to confirm the move on social media.

Both accounts have since deleted the tweets which claimed a decision had been made to keep schools closed until the end of the month.

Former Agricultural Minister Dara Calleary has a post on his Facebook that confirms the move and is still live.

It is likely that all primary and secondary schools will close until January 31, with a move to remote learning until then.

Provisions for special education and the disability sector will be made to ensure those with extra educational needs do not fall behind.

The Taoiseach appeared to confirm the move himself earlier today, saying that keeping schools closed until the end of January is "on the agenda" to lower the movement of people.

The proposals are being discussed at the cabinet sub-committee today before a final decision is made tomorrow.